Sliding bearings of the above-mentioned type are known in the art. They can be configured as radial and/or axial bearings. Radial, angular-contact, and axial-plain bearings are already known.
In the case of a radial bearing the sliding surfaces are spherical and are arc-shaped in radial section. In these bearings, the centerpoint of the circular path lies on the rotational axis of the bearing. In this case both radial and axial support is provided; furthermore tilting movement of the rotational axis is also possible.
Sliding bushings having cylindrical bushing geometry are also known. In this case only radial loads can be supported because the cylindrical bushing can slide axially in its counter-contour and thus transmits no axial forces.
Thrust washers serve exclusively for transmitting axial forces and also work on the principle of a sliding bearing.